Save the School House Shelter: Defend the Downtown East!

In June, the City of Toronto's 'Community Development and Recreation Committee', including local councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, voted to close down the School House on George St, a 55 bed men's harm reduction shelter. On Wednesday, November 14th the issue of the School House Shelter will be brought back to City Hall for a final report on how the money that should be spent keeping the shelter open, will instead be re-shuffled in the system. In the mean-time, all shelters remain overcrowded, harm reduction programming is scarce, the Provincial cut to Community Start-Up will throw more people on to the streets, and winter is about to set in.

The closing of the School House is a gateway for the re-development and gentrification of the entire Downtown East. On George St alone, politicians and slumlords have let buildings that should have been converted to affordable housing long ago, instead sit empty and catch fire. They talk about 'cleaning up the neighborhood' but instead of building housing, keeping shelters open, and providing more and better services, they cut services, reduce shelter beds, and blame the poor. They talk about 'mixed income' neighborhoods, and yet no one looks at mixing up Rosedale, only the Downtown East is the target.

We can not let this shelter be closed, and we will not let poor people be pushed and priced out of the Downtown East. OCAP has said from the beginning that we will not simply watch the School House be cleared or sit empty while people die on the streets. We have brought our community together to fight for this space, and on November 14th we are not backing down.

Next Downtown East Community Meeting
Wednesday, November 7th at 6pm
St.Lukes (Sherbourne/Carlton)

Join us for our next Downtown East public community meeting to talk about the School House, the history of the Downtown East, and resistance in the neighborhood to upscale development. Food and tokens provided.

OCAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government policies as they affect poor and working people. In addition, we provide direct-action advocacy for individuals against welfare and ODSP, public housing and others who deny poor people what they are entitled to. We believe in the power of people to organize themselves.